As a company, if there’s one lesson you should take from the Coronavirus Pandemic, it’s that in order to stay competitive, businesses need plenty of creativity and resourcefulness. 

After budget slashes, hiring freezes, and more budget slashes, organisations are left with a collective feeling of being beat. But the HR department could play an important role in cost reductions across the organisation.

No matter the department or tribe you belong to as a leader you should be considering both the short term and long term effects of the decisions you make, and the HR department is no exception. 

One example would be headcount reduction helping with cost reduction in the short term, but having longer-term negative effects such as demotivation and anxiety in the other remaining employees, which could then lead to lowered productivity and competitiveness.

In other words, giving plenty of thought to what the right HR reduction cost strategies for your organisation are of utmost importance. Here are a few to consider this 2021.

Pausing big software projects

There’s no reason to just leave this one out to the IT department. Freezing hiring for large software projects can be a smart play at reducing short term costs. You can always reconsider this decision once the IT department has had time to further assess things and determine whether there is sufficient value and funding to continue the project.

Looking into software license renewals  

Speaking of software… many of the software and cloud-based applications that HR and other departments use are licensed based on monthly or annual headcount. It’s important to look into the way these software companies invoice your organisation and ensure that the correct headcount is being used for the equation. 

Maybe you no longer need that whiz bang product you were sold 18 months ago and nobody seems to use? Maybe another program has recently increased functionality such as onboarding or EAP and you no longer need a separate application to do that? 

Reducing outsourcing work to third party companies

Look into things and where possible, department leaders could decide to bring in work done by third-parties in-house. 

It’s easy to overlook some things when we’re occupied by hectic and ongoing processes, but as things have been dwindling to near-stop or slowed down for some industries (or even departments within organisations), there could be enough time to analyse things and see which internal resources are available, what skill sets are required for certain projects, timelines and availabilities, and which ones can be done in-house.

Outsourcing nonessential work

On the flip side if there’s work in your organisation that is nonessential to your day-to-day operations, consider outsourcing it to a third-party. While this move might reduce headcount initially and could even cause a bit of friction, in the long run, it may help your company survive a sharp downturn and prevent more drastic cost cutting and headcount reduction measures. 

Engaging a part-time, temporary or contract workforce

Sometimes a full-time permanent employee is not needed to complete a piece of work and tightly assessing the requirements of each vacancy against the expected deliverables, it’s possible you may discover that instead of hiring a permanent employee, it may be more cost-effective to hire a part-time or contract employee. 

We often see very talented and experienced people (especially women) who have decided to re-enter the workforce after having a child but they can only commit to part-time work. Companies often ignore this highly capable segment of the workforce under the assumption that someone must be working full time in order to deliver value and be effective. 

Questioning this assumption and exploring part-timers can provide a mutual benefit to the company and to those individuals who only can work part-time. 

Hiring Freeze

This is probably one of the most common cost reduction practices and one that is often swiftly implemented within companies in the event of an economic decline. 

Make sure to reevaluate all your open positions because a full freeze might be necessary sometimes, but it will always depend on the situation that your organisation is in. Together with other leaders, you should determine which among your open positions are key roles that require to be filled in a timely manner and how this changes in a rapidly changing work environment. 

Reduce or eliminate (when possible) nonessential external training

While training is essential for both the employees and the organisation as a whole, if circumstances land you in a spot where there isn’t enough funding for them anymore, have a look within your own workforce and see if you have subject matter experts who can fill in the gaps. 

You wouldn’t want to freeze all training altogether, but you can look into reducing the number of sessions given for the year or quarter until the funding opens back up again. 

Encourage employees to use their leave credits

This one doesn’t offer a cash benefit, but having employees use banked leave time, such as annual leave will reduce the company’s debt and exposure during a time where there may not be as many projects happening. 

This is also effective when there are new social distancing rules with office environments and could be an effective way of rotating staff in and out of the office and providing rest during stressful or tumultuous periods. 

Need help finding ways to reduce HR costs this 2021?

Redwolf + Rosch offers a range of services in addition to recruitment, such as team and workforce assessment and HR consulting. 

Contact us via office@redwolfrosch.com.au or calling 1300 544 652.

Unless you’re actively looking for a job, it might be easy to ignore your LinkedIn profile. And this approach is more than understandable. After all, LinkedIn isn’t exactly your typical “fun” social media platform. It’s not where you and your friends exchange memes and videos of dogs.

But truth be told, as a digital recruitment company, we know there’s a lot of benefits to be gained from ensuring that your LinkedIn profile is in top-notch shape, always updated, and the best it can be.

It can sometimes feel selfish or a little self-centred to focus on marketing ourselves, but the reality is that when we neglect personal branding, it’s also a big missed opportunity from a professional and marketing standpoint. And in the professional world, your LinkedIn Profile is the heart of your personal branding.

Choose a great photo

Some say your LinkedIn Profile is like your digital business card. Well, we think the profile photo you pick for your LinkedIn Profile is the business card of that digital business card. As visual creatures, images strike us before words do. Make sure that the first strike is a winning one.

Make your headline more just a job title

But be sure to stay on course. You can make your LinkedIn Profile headline by sharing a bit about, what you do, why you love what you do or how you view your role. The more you can be specific about why you stand out from your peers, the better. There’s no reason for you to just stick to your job title or company when writing your headline. In fact, if you’re actively looking for a job, we suggest against it. Something like “passionate about designing great user experiences” or “helping to develop world-class mobile applications” or “project manager, pet lover, amateur basketball player” are all great examples of a LinkedIn headline.

Get more out of your target job descriptions

When you’re scoping out the platform for ideal jobs, keep note of the job descriptions that you come across. The words that stand out the most are the ones that most recruiters likely use when they’re looking for talent like yourself. You can create a browser folder and save the links for jobs you apply for as shortcuts in that folder so when someone calls you back you are not left asking them what job they are referring to (because you have applied for so many).

Write a winning About Section (FKA Summary Section)

An ideal LinkedIn Profile About section should walk the reader through your key skills, work passions, unique qualifications, and a range of industries you’ve been exposed to over the years. You should be able to cover all that in about 3 to 5 short paragraphs. Make sure to include something about your values and personality, remember that recruiters and employers look for a culture fit, not just a technical fit.

Steer clear of buzzwords

And when we say steer clear of them, we really mean avoid them like the plague. We’re talking about words like expert, entrepreneur, industry leader, guru, experienced, skilled, motivated, strategic, passionate and other similar ones. These words are the most overused words on LinkedIn. And if you ask us, we think you can do way better than that. Try to be more specific around what you do and what value you can bring to a potential employer.

Write as if you’re talking to your target recruiters

It’s easy to consider your LinkedIn Profile as if it were a CV or a resume. And in some ways, it is. But never in the sense that it’s a piece of paper with information about your professional life, and not much else. Try to tell a story to the reader, make it interesting and compelling and include contact information to make it easy for people to reach you.

Don’t forget to highlight your achievements

Effective recruiters know to target high performers when they’re looking for talent on LinkedIn. So it would be in your best interest to highlight your achievements and accomplishments on the About and Experiences section of your LinkedIn Profile. Highlight accomplishments such as promotions, times you’ve been handpicked for projects, contributions to the team and company and what you’re great at doing. This is the place to showcase your strengths and attributes.

Bonus: Get a custom URL

When you first sign up for a LinkedIn account, you are assigned a clunky combination of numbers as your URL. From a marketing viewpoint, it would be much easier to publicise yourself if your URL is custom (think: LinkedIn.com/YourName) not to mention it just looks cooler and has a more “official” feel to it.

Need some extra tips to improve your LinkedIn profile? Start the conversation with the best IT recruitment consultants in Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide and Brisbane by emailing office@redwolfrosch.com.au or calling 1300 544 652.

It’s no secret that employee turnover is expensive. So wouldn’t it be nicer if it covered just a small part of the pie? But the reality isn’t nearly as neat because according to 47% of HR professionals, employee retention is their biggest talent management challenge, followed closely by recruitment at 36%.

Not only is poor employee retention going to hit your company as a financial strain and affect your bottom line, but it will also cause quite a bit of a mess structurally.

What kind of impact will the departure of one colleague have on the rest of your staff? We all know that when someone we work with walks out the door, we notice their absence, especially if that person is key to a project or a team. It can even make some wonder if it’s time for them to pack their things and get going too. Mass exodus can occur from time to time.

There’s also the urgent task of finding a worthy replacement for your newly open role. Not a very easy thing to do in a market where skilled professionals are high in demand and on the low side when it comes to supply.

And lastly, you have to tackle all these challenges on top of your usual daily responsibilities…

So how do you improve employee retention?

Here are some tips on building and implementing the right retention strategies for your company.

How to improve employee retention

Retention starts during recruitment

Your retention strategy should start from the beginning. From the application process and the screening of applicants to choosing who to interview and deciding who to hire. And all of that needs to be backed by identifying which values and what aspects of cultures you want to emphasise and then seeking those out in candidates.

Ensure that compensation and benefits are competitive

Offering financial awards for employees who exceed performance goals, flexible work schedules, holiday entitlement, stock options, life insurance, and generous paid leave policies, on top of offering competitive compensation, can go a long way in ensuring that employees feel that they are valued by the company.

Employees need leaders, not “bosses”

People follow leaders, not bosses. But how exactly do you become a leader and not just a boss?

The first step is ensuring that you are available to your employees, which goes beyond just offering the phrase “open-door policy”. After all, it’s not uncommon for people to feel uncomfortable about giving feedback and criticism for fear of reprisal or embarrassment, even when there’s an open-door policy in place.

The key to this is actively creating an open rapport among your employees. No need to try to be best friends with everyone, but taking the time to be friendly and genuinely engaged with your employees is definitely a necessary step in the path to becoming a real leader.

Ongoing mentorship, training, and clear paths to career advancement

Prioritise investing in your employees’ professional development and growth by providing ongoing training and mentorship. And all of that should go hand in hand with promotions from within, which will provide clear paths towards better compensation and greater responsibility, and will also help make employees feel that they’re a crucial part of the company and its success.

Recognition and Rewards System

Who doesn’t like being appreciated, recognised, or rewarded for the hard work that they do? So make it a habit to express your gratitude to your direct reports when they go the extra mile. It could be as simple as a genuine thank you email or something more memorable like a gift card or an extra day off. Some companies even set up formal rewards systems that incentivise great work and helpful ideas.

Showing your employees that the hard work they do is more than just appreciated, but actually helps the company reach its goals and targets, can do plenty in keeping employees feeling motivated.

Keep a Close Watch On Your Managers

It’s not that uncommon: You ask a friend why they left their most recent job, and they spend the next half hour telling you stories about how much of a bad experience it was working with their former superiors.

The saying “people leave managers, not companies” isn’t that much of a reach. After all, people follow as they are led, and a bad manager can create a negative mess even in the most positive of spaces. So while you’re training your managers on the technical skills that their positions require, make sure you train them on them their soft skills too. This might include conflict management, how to encourage and motivate different personalities, crisis and stress management, and so on.

Flexible Working Arrangements

Flexible working arrangements are becoming more and more commonplace at companies and offices, and the trend began well before the pandemic started wreaking havoc across cities all over the world.

It will be in your company’s best interest to offer more flexible working schedules for your employees as it has been proven to be a major stress reliever (and retention booster) for office workers. Compressed schedules where employees work four 10-hour days a week (instead of 5 8 hour days a week), or flextime where people are required to be on the clock for a specific schedule daily, are both common flexible working arrangements that many companies offer their workforce.

Need to talk to someone about improving employee retention in 2021? Start the conversation with the best IT recruitment consultants in Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide and Brisbane by emailing office@redwolfrosch.com.au or calling 1300 544 652.

Why is compassion so powerful? Because it’s about mindset. If you approach a situation with a specific mindset, the likely outcome of that situation is highly dependent on the mindset of the individuals involved.

Imagine this, a new employee or team member messes up a major presentation and risks losing the pitch or the client. Your blood boils as you get upset, you say to yourself “they really should have known better, they said they’ve done this before” Imbecile! I’m going to let them have a piece of my mind.

So after the presentation, you decide you are going to have a “word” with them. Except, you are going into this little chat with an agitated mindset. To try to bring success and positivity from that mindset is going to be hard because once we have the inertia of emotion it takes conscious effort to change it. As you go at them for messing up the presentation, the likely response of this person will be defensiveness (people are forced to defend themselves when they feel attacked, it’s human nature) and then you will want to attack more because you feel they are not “getting it”. The situation might escalate, you might be victorious in this battle and they might leave slightly deflated after the encounter with their confidence lowered and their motivation shot for the rest of the day, if not the rest of the week. Then you may feel regret or remorse afterwards because winning this battle didn’t actually make you feel any better.

Now picture this, you think to yourself, this person really stuffed up the presentation….but you know they usually work hard and are committed to the team and the work you do. You think to yourself “I wonder if they are ok? I wonder if perhaps they were nervous or something was going on for them that made them drop the ball?”

You engage with your compassionate self and then you approach them. You might say something like.. “hey are you ok? I noticed you were quite nervous during that presentation, how do you feel that went? Do you want to talk about it?” Is there anything I could have done to help you prepare better?”

The likelihood of a positive outcome from a compassionate conversation is much higher. This person knows that you, as their people leader/manager cares about them. Not only will this increase their confidence but also their resolve to make sure the next presentation is better than the last because they don’t want to let you or themselves or the team down.

People are smart, they will know when they are winning and they will know when they dropped the ball. The outcome of genuine compassion in conversations, especially when something went wrong, will create a feeling of safety and support within your team and will actually encourage higher performance in the long run.

It’s one of the most powerful mindset changes I’ve seen in businesses and time and time again, those with high levels of compassion (read EQ) tend to have tighter knit and better-performing teams.

If you’ve experienced compassion or lack of compassion in the workplace, share your experiences below and let’s all encourage more compassion in the workplace.

Peace, Bart

Start the conversation with the best IT recruitment consultants in Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide and Brisbane by emailing office@redwolfrosch.com.au or calling 1300 544 652.

It’s 2020 and you can easily post a job online, whether it’s via your corporate website, job listing websites, or even LinkedIn. So why use a recruitment agency to fill the position your company needs? There’s more than one reason why a recruitment agency is more than helpful in finding your next hire. We’ve enumerated the benefits of using a recruitment agency.

Recruiters Save the Company Time and Money

Finding a great hire doesn’t need to take away time and effort from managers and company leaders. Reviewing resumes, funnelling candidates, and interviewing can be highly time-consuming.

Instead of having the hiring process distract employees who can be focusing on their main responsibilities, turning over recruitment to the experts will ease the process for everyone and keep the managers on top of their everyday workload.

Recruiters Keep Employers Focused on Work

While the company saves time and money with the help of recruiters, employers can focus on what they do best, getting all the job done without having to worry about the hiring process.

Unless hiring great employees is in the company’s core competency, there is no reason for the company to shoulder the intricacies of hiring. Having the right recruitment agency by your side will definitely ensure this.

Specialised Recruiters are Experts

Recruiters who are experienced in the same industry your company is in have better chances in finding recruits with the specific specialised skill set you are looking for. They understand industry jargon, know what to look for in CVs in terms of accomplishments, and know the candidate’s language fluently. It will be easy for specialised recruiters to find candidates that are qualified versus those who are not.

Recruiters Attract the Best Talent

After carefully processing the job description you’ve provided, recruiters know where to exactly look. Whether the best hire for the position to fill is actively or passively looking for new opportunities, qualified recruiters know where to find them.

More often than not, the most qualified talent you are looking for isn’t looking for a new position. They’re out and about working for another company. Great recruiters know how to approach and use their network as leverage when introducing hires to great opportunities like working for your company.

Recruiters Take Less Time to Fill Roles

Having a position open can be costly to your company and can affect productivity within the organisation. You may have spread the responsibilities of this one open position to different employees, or they are being totally ignored. Instead of maximizing one position, this can cause loss of productivity within the team.

Recruiters are giving 100% finding the right person to fill the position needed, and are only focused on finding qualified candidates. This means their commitment, expertise and established networks make it easier to fill the roles in less time.

Many top organisations benefit from niche and specialised recruitment partnerships. With the right recruitment agency, you can speed up your time to hire, find better people and focus on growing your business.

Ready to find your next great hire? As one of the most effective recruitment agencies in Melbourne, Adelaide & Brisbane, we’d love to help you grow your business.

Start the conversation with the best IT recruitment consultants in Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide and Brisbane by emailing office@redwolfrosch.com.au or calling 1300 544 652.

In order to progress to the interview stage of the hiring process, your resume needs to be able to hook in its reader as soon as it’s viewed. Recruiters go through so many resumes, and sometimes it takes them less than a minute to decide whether you are a qualified candidate that will move on to the interview stage.

You can only put so much in your resume; you have to make sure that it is enough clear, concise, and consistent information to get you that interview. So what do recruiters look for in a resume? Here are the top things you need on your resume to secure that interview:

Correct Roles and Responsibilities

You need to customise your resume according to the job you’re applying for. It is important to know your audience and make sure that the roles and responsibilities you are offering to the company are the qualifications they are looking for. Showing the recruiters that your previous roles and responsibilities are the same or similar to what they are looking for immediately makes you a match and a qualified candidate.

Experience

Expertise is based on experience. Experience is immediately scanned by recruiters as employers can be specific in the years of experience they want their hire to have. Did you have any career progression? Did your responsibilities add up as the years go by? These are indicators of how experienced you are in the industry.

Useful Skills

Make sure the list of skills are useful to the position you are applying for. Unless you’re a chef, cooking skills don’t matter in your resume. Include all the skills you’ve used and learned from your previous roles. This ensures how capable and suitable you are for the available role.

Achievements

Including industry accomplishments, lets recruiters know that you’ve done more than just an average job at your last post. This is also a clear picture of the results of your work. Recruiters know that having achievements means you’re not just doing the bare minimum job, you’re doing it very well! Achievements don’t always have to be industry specific, if you are a software developer, you may have built a cool application in your spare time that effectively schedules all the teams for soccer practice at your local school.

Education

Make sure to put relevant educational certificates, particularly the ones that are deemed desirable or even essential in your field of work. Although this is not as relevant as experience and achievements, some companies require their upper management employees and leaders to have certain masteral degrees in the field.

Readability and Clarity

The recruiters will not have time to read long paragraphs so make sure your resume is clear and concise. You may use bullet formats. Keep sentences short and straightforward and consider they may be read on a mobile device so keep them mobile-friendly. Remember that recruiters will not spend hours on your resume so giving them all the information they need easily makes it easier to process your qualification. Only put the necessary information and be consistent.

If you’re planning to apply or level-up your career, take time to review your resume. Keep these in mind and you are sure to get that interview!

Ready to boost your profile? Start the conversation with the best IT recruitment consultants in Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide and Brisbane by emailing office@redwolfrosch.com.au or calling 1300 544 652.

In almost every industry globally, there are countless companies tanking left and right because of the crippling effects of the Coronavirus pandemic. But some companies are able to stay afloat more steadily than others, and then there are those that even manage to thrive during such uncertain times.

For both categories, most companies come from the tech industry. And it should be no surprise seeing as digital technology is in the middle of the #NewNormal’s business and economic development. But this doesn’t mean that these companies aren’t doing their share of planning and adapting. If anyone can survive this, it’s companies that know change forces innovation, tech companies.

Agility and Adaptability

Most tech companies like Apple, Atlassian, Google have seamlessly switched to 100% remote work. This came easy as a significant number of tech workers already work remotely. This also made use of data and experience easy to apply and adapt company-wide. This is a good example of agile leadership in terms of decision-making.

Great decision-making skills equip a company to survive a sudden change in the economic environment. A tech company’s ability to adapt may seem easier because of existing resources; nonetheless, the countless points to consider would’ve been chaotic in the wrong hands.

Hiring Made Better

Now that remote work is the #NewNormal, tech companies will be able to hire experts from around the world. Tech companies are no longer bound by geographical limits. The best hires might even appear during these times. A team can now be composed of different people from around the globe, and be the best team it could be. Thanks to technology, tech companies are getting stronger than ever with remote work.

Organise. Organise. Organise.

Countless organisational resources put us on top of our game. This shouldn’t be an excuse to be complacent. Keeping everything organised and on time lessens everyone’s stress level. It also puts high trust in your company. As a company, you must always keep the trust of employees and partners. The building is only as strong as its foundation. Organise daily or weekly company huddles to keep everyone on track. Organise and ins and outs of new and old clientele. Organise the equal distribution of energy between accounts. An organised system is easy to maneuver, hard to fail. A well-organised digital-only workflow cannot be beaten. How was Apple able to unveil iPhone 12 in the middle of a pandemic? Organisation.

Collaboration Tools

More than ever, company employees need each other to support and work together. The digital-only workflow inspires to create new ways of collaborating, maybe even more effective ways. Atlassian believes that because of digital collaboration tools mean we can access work anywhere, but it also means we’ve managed to learn new tools in collaborating. Not only is it more inclusive than pre-#NewNormal emails, but it also helped a lot of companies evolve digitally.

If your company has managed to survive the roughness that is 2020, you must applaud yourselves and your team.

It’s one thing to adjust, adapt, and consistently plan for what’s ahead, but it’s another to still strive for great output in these uncertain times. A smooth sea doesn’t make a skilled sailor, but let’s hope these storms calm down soon.

Need to talk to someone about building and onboarding your team in the #newnormal? Start the conversation with the best IT recruitment consultants in Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide and Brisbane by emailing office@redwolfrosch.com.au or calling 1300 544 652.

They say first impressions last, and a job interview is one of the first impressions a potential employer can get of you. It’s where you’re given a chance to further elaborate on your skills and experiences, as well as demonstrate the qualifications you have that are relevant to the role you’re interviewing for.

Knowing what not to do during an interview can help you better prepare and think of ways to show interviewers that you’re taking the interview seriously and that you can act appropriately in a professional setting. Here are some common slip-ups you’d want to avoid if you want to show a potential employer that you’re qualified for the job:

Common Job Interview Mistakes

Not doing your homework

This one might sound basic, but you’d be surprised how many job seekers fail to impress potential employers simply because they didn’t do sufficient research before the interview. Being able to answer the question “What do you know about our company?” should be easy if you do your homework properly. Be genuinely curious about the company, find out about their history, mission statement, locations, divisions, and more.

Bonus: It also helps to learn about the company’s culture by checking their social media pages (if they have any), especially LinkedIn.

Inappropriate attire

No matter what job you’re applying for and no matter what company, it’s of vital importance that you’re appropriately dressed and put together. Even if it’s a company with a casual dress code, make sure you look professional. This will show your potential employer that you’re taking the interview seriously and have a high sense of professionalism.

Arriving late

Make sure you don’t give your potential employer a bad first impression before they even meet you. Arriving late at an interview not only shows unpreparedness and poor time management skills but also demonstrates a lack of respect for the company and the interviewers. So make sure you arrive on time for your job interview, or even early. But not TOO early.

The earliest you should arrive is 10-15 minutes early. This will give the interviewer time to finish any work that they might be doing and prepare for the interview.

Using your phone during the interview

If you can put your phone on silent before you step into a movie theatre, then surely you can do it before getting to your job interview as well. Using your phone during an interview not only screams rude, but it’s also disruptive and shows that the role you’re applying for and the interview aren’t on top of your priority list.

Losing your focus

Make sure you’re not only well-prepared for your interview, but well-rested and sufficiently energised as well. Get enough sleep and eat a nutritious breakfast before your interview because it’s imperative that you’re refreshed and alert. This will help you focus on the things the interviewers are saying, which will in turn help you better answer questions that they might have.

Staying focused and listening to everything the interviewer says will also help you know what questions to ask or what information you should share.

Being unsure of your own resume facts

Even if it is your resume, make sure you refresh yourself on its details. Prepare a copy for yourself so you can read it over while waiting for your interviewer. Some companies will require you to fill out an application form even if you’ve already submitted a resume, so make sure you have all the details you’ll need such as dates of prior employment and names of former employers.

It might be a little difficult to recall details about some of your older experiences, that’s why it’s a good idea to review the facts prior to your interview. This will help you answer any questions the interviewers might have regarding your previous experiences more confidently.

Talking too much

Yes, the interviewer would like to get to know you better. But no, they don’t need your entire life story. Remember that no matter how friendly or welcoming the interviewer is, interviews are professional situations, not personal. So make sure to answer questions succinctly to avoid unnecessary rambling. Also, you may feel nervous or really want the job and you “over answer” the questions that have been asked. It’s a good idea to be mindful of the interviewer’s time and read the room to see if your long answers are welcome or just tolerated.

Backbiting previous employers

No matter how terrible a past work experience or previous employer was, make sure not to badmouth them. It might be tempting to share how incompetent your old boss was, but talking ill about your previous employers or co-workers wouldn’t help in showing the interviewers that you work well with other people. It can even come across as insecurity.

Talk about the things you learned and the skills you developed from your past work experiences instead. When asked the common job interview question “Tell me about a time you dealt with a difficult colleague”, make sure you answer it positively. This will demonstrate your ability to work well with other people and resolve issues maturely and professionally.

Ready to find the best and most suitable job vacancies in Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane? Let us help you boost that profile and CV by starting the conversation with the best IT recruitment consultants in Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide and Brisbane by emailing office@redwolfrosch.com.au or calling 1300 544 652.

For many companies in countless different industries, the Coronavirus pandemic has resulted in recruitment coming to a complete standstill. On the flip side of that, there are also sectors — essential services and remote-friendly roles in particular — where the pandemic has caused the opposite, which is a fast and high volume rate of hiring. 

Recruitment planning is looking a little more than uncertain because of Covid-19. But it’s not impossible to find your next great hire in the middle of a pandemic. Here are a few tips that can help you navigate through recruitment and hiring during a pandemic.

Adjust your recruitment and onboarding policies

Just because the Coronavirus pandemic has made it quite impossible to be in the same room as a job seeker or a new hire, doesn’t mean you can’t reshape your processes, particularly to be tech-driven and remote. But it’s also important to ensure that everyone is as ready and comfortable as possible with the changes to avoid unnecessary hiccups.

The use of internal communication and courier services can also help in ensuring that job seekers and new recruits alike will still be able to feel welcome. These efforts can also be a great way to remotely demonstrate the culture of your company.

Your next great hire can be made remotely

Video interviews done via Zoom are fast becoming non-negotiable and communicating via email or phone has now become the primary choice for both job seekers and companies. You may be new to hiring remotely, but fret not, because great hires can be made remotely!

Just ensure that you have the right tech and tools to make communication easier and streamlined and a strong remote onboarding process in place. 

Using proper assessment tools and exercises such as skills assessments (e.g. typing, Google Suite tests), simulations (e.g. answering calls, mock presentations), work assignments (e.g. writing exercises), personality and integrity evaluations, cognitive ability tests, and more also have a wide range of benefits. 

Remote work is now the default standard

Currently, there are millions around the world working remotely because of lockdown measures that have been put in place in countless cities. The good thing is that this is proving that most people are just as productive (some, even more so) when they work from the comfort of their own homes. This means that there will be roles that might go remote permanently, and as a company, you will run the risk of missing out on great talent if you can’t adapt.

At the end of the day, the companies that will be best-equipped for remote recruitment will be those who have embraced and mastered the art of working remotely and managing remote teams. Now, more than ever is the best time to consider developing your company’s onboarding and training methods to translate seamlessly into the online world. 

Continue on (or start) your hiring now

If you wait for “all of this to blow over” before you start hiring again, you’ll run the risk of losing valuable time and talent. Until the economy allows more people to go back to work in offices, get right on track with filling roles that you need not only now, but those you’ll need in the future too. 

Demonstrate your resilience as a company by keeping a steady rhythm going and being ever present. Showing your company’s ability to wade through the murky waters that is this pandemic will not only attract job seekers now but for future ones as well. 

Your hiring journey doesn’t have to be put on a halt but with the current state of things, you definitely need to learn to adjust, adapt, and do things differently. 

Ready to make your next great hire, even in the middle of a pandemic? We’d be more than happy to lend a hand in finding the next exceptional addition to your team. 

We’re ready for remote zoom and coffee! 🙂 Start the conversation with the best IT recruitment consultants in Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide and Brisbane by emailing office@redwolfrosch.com.au or calling 1300 544 652.

Companies are responding to the unpredictability unveiled by the Coronavirus pandemic by asking their employees to work remotely. As a result, there’s now a multitude of managers, team leaders, and supervisors who suddenly find themselves needing to manage remote teams. And for many of us, it’s the first time we’ve ever had to do so, with barely any time to prepare at all.

This scenario that managers have suddenly been plunged into might be a little more than difficult to come to grips with, leaving some feeling like they have lost control over things and even affecting trust levels amongst teams. But with up to 90% of all employees saying they would like to work remotely at least part of the time for the rest of their careers, the remote work model is definitely something that we all need to embrace. That’s why the Redwolf & Roch team have gathered some tips to help make it easier for you to manage your team remotely: 

Use tech to your advantage

This is the first thing you need to ensure, and this applies to both hardware and software. Technological tools will be the ultimate key in nailing communication and efficient collaboration. Allocate resources into making sure your team has all the tools they need to get the work done. This can range from apps, laptops, mobile devices, and even high-speed internet. It’s presumptuous to assume that everyone has access to these tools, and it’s your responsibility as a manager to ensure that your team does.

Streamline communication

Create a communication strategy and establish “rules of engagement” to help make remote work become more seamless and efficient. This means setting expectations for frequency, ideal timings, means, etc. for the team’s communication. And while certainly, maintaining professionalism in virtual communication is important, there’s nothing wrong with making use of appropriate emojis here and there. 

Set expectations

And clear ones, at that. Whether it must involve demonstrating how you want things done via video coaching, showing examples through Loom videos, or sharing calendars and project management outlines, make sure your expectations are as clear as can be for (and from) those you work with online. The better prepared the team is, the better they’d be able to execute plans and projects effectively.

The proof is in the outcome, not in the activity

When transitioning into a remote workforce, the focus should be on the goals and managing expectations. Worry less about what things are being done and how they’re being done. Instead, focus on what is being accomplished at the end of the day. Besides, it’s impossible to manage every aspect of the work that your team is doing, especially when your team is distributed across different locations (and maybe even time zones) so it would be futile to even try. A better way to measure your team accordingly is through the outcomes, not on the hours worked or how those hours were spent.

Be Flexible  

During such uncertain and worrying times, you need to understand that even (or especially) outside of work, your team has a lot on their plate. While that’s no excuse for not getting work done, it’s a great reason, as a manager, to give some thought to what productivity really means. With the current state of things, the “9-to-5” and punching a clock for 8 hours is definitely out of the question for many of us. That’s why you need to learn to be flexible with your team and allow them a schedule or a working groove that helps them be their most productive. You’d thank yourself for it because, in the end, it would be best not just for the team, but for the entire company as well.

Offer Encouragement & Support 

Because of the abrupt shift from office based work to remote work, as a manager, you need to not only acknowledge but also understand the new and unique stresses that your team will be facing. Be even more open to discussing things with your team members, whether it’s concerns about the future or anxiety about work, learn to empathize with their struggles effectively, even if it’s through virtual communication. And if a team member is clearly showing signs of distress and struggles, don’t hesitate to be the first one to approach and check in on them.

Want to manage an awesome team of great individuals?

Start the conversation with the best IT recruitment consultants in Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide and Brisbane by emailing office@redwolfrosch.com.au or calling 1300 544 652.